Street cleaner



Nov. 7, 1944.

M. V. BERNAL STREET CLEANER Filed Aug. 20, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 M. V. BERNAL STREET CLEANER Nov. 7, 1944.

Filed Aug. 20, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ma urzLce Z). Berna Patented Nov. 7, 1944 UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE 2,361,909 s'rana'r enema Maurice V. Bernal, Merced, alif., asslgnor of one-half to James Turner, Merced, Calif.

Application August 20, 1943, Serial No. 499,365

1' Claim.

This invention relates to street cleaning equipment, and particularly to an apparatus for use on tree lined streets in residential districts, which toward winter are apt .to be covered with fallenleaves.

At present the leaves are swept up by one worker and shoveled by another into a truck body mounted directly on a truck which will gather up leaves either lying loose on the street or from piles, and will deliver such leaves into a trailer attached to the truck.

The apparatus includes a suction fan and a leaf gathering nozzle, and a further object is to mount the nozzle so that it may be easily manipulated to properly pick up all leaves within a certain zone without moving the truck and without the operator having to support the full weight of the nozzle and its attached conduit.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive device, and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and'claim.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of the apparatus, including the truck and trailer.

tus.

Figure 3 is anenlarged transverse section of the fan.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the truck I on which the apparatus is mounted includes side frame beams 2 on which, toward the rear, a transverse auxiliary frame 3 is mounted, said frame 3 overhanging the beams i as clearly shown in Fig. 2. A suction fan 4 ismounted on the frame 3 adjacent one side thereof, with its in- Figure 2 is a transverse view of the appatake facing laterally of the truck and with its discharge passage 5 facing rearwardly. This fan mounted on the frame 3, which is preferably a suitable internal combustion engine, indicated at 6. The intake conduit I of the fan is a relatively long member and includes a flexible portion 8 adjacent the fan and which in effect forms a universal joint. This conduit extends laterally from the truck for a considerable distancev with a downward slope and terminates in an abrupt downwardly bent elbow 8 on which a. nozzle I0 is rigidly secured. The nozzle is of rectangular oblong shape in plane at its open end, which faces the ground, and is relatively narrow in a plane lengthwise of the truck. The nozzle is. always maintained clear of the street, so as to provide a leaf-clearance passage between the street and nozzle, by caster wheels II at the ends of the nozzle.

The weight of the conduit however is substantially counterbalanced and maintained generally stabilized against undesired swaying, while the truck is in motion, by a pair of flexible suspension units l2. These are secured on and project upwardly from the conduit adjacent the elbow 8 in diverging relation lengthwise of the truck, and are secured .at their upper end on a boom l3 mounted on and projecting laterally from the frame 3 with an upward slant.

The units I! include tension springs l4, so that the conduit and nozzle is yieldably suspended and can be readily raised and lowered by the operator without his having to actually support any material weight. A handle i5 is mounted on top of the conduit near its outer or lower end for this purpose. and the handle also enables the nozzle to be swung horizontally as well as vertically. The flexible and yieldable tension units and the flexible portion 8 of the conduit enable the nozzle to be shifted over a considerable area lengthwise of the truck without moving the latter, so that a roughly swept-up pile of'leaves maybe cleanly collected from the street without moving the truck.

The discharge passage I of the fan is connected by a flexible coupling sleeve I! with a rigid rearward extending discharge conduit II, which at its rear end rests on a guide and supporting cradle l8 which is secured on the relatively low front end wall IQ of the cover body 20 of a trailer 2|. The trailer is connected to the rear end of the truck by a drawbar 22 so that the truck and trailer move as a unit, while being connected in relatively steerable relation.

shaft 23, a plurality of paddles or vanes 24 which is driven by direct connection with a power plant have considerable clearance with the walls of the fan housing and are also cut down in width considerably for some distance radially out from the shaft, as shown in Fig. 3.

-The intake conduit 1 also joins the corresponding side of the housing with a relatively large bell 25. In this manner ample space is provided in the tan housing for the entry into and passage of leaves from the housing without danger of clogging.

In operation the truck is manipulated so that the nozzle overhangs the area where the leaves are collected, usually near the curb. With the tan in operation, the leaves are drawn into the nozzle by the suctional action, and the nozzle may be manually moved about by a worker grasp-' ing the handle It, as may be necessary to collect all leaves possible without moving the truck Another worker may sweep the leaves into operative reach of the nozzle if the accumulation at any one point is relatively heavy. It the leaf accumulation is relatively light and more or less distributed evenly along the curb, a single continuous pass of the truck along the street may be suilicient to make a proper clean-up.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets "forth in detail the 1 present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and usetul and desireto secure by Letters Patent is:

In street cleaning apparatus which includes a supporting vehicle movable along the street, and a suction tan mounted on said vehicle; an intake conduit projecting from the fan laterally ot'the vehicle to an outer termination beyond one side thereof, said conduit extending at a downward incline and including a flexible portion intermediate its ends forming in effect a universal joint, a depending nozzle on the outer end of said con-' duit, a boom mounted on the vehicle and projecting laterally thereof in overhanging relation to and some distance above said conduit, a pair of suspension units connected at their lower ends to the conduit outwardly of said flexible portion,v

said suspension units extending upwardly from the conduit in substantial divergence in a plane lengthwise of the vehicle, and being connected at their upper ends to the boom at relatively widely spaced points, and a tension spring interposed in each suspension unit.

MAURICE V. BERNAL. 

